Ethanol problems and pluses: here are some pros and cons of ethanol. Ethanol may be good in some cases, but there are many drawbacks to the fuel. Basically, ethanol is not practical as a replacement fuel for gasoline. We of course recommend electric vehicles as the best transportation alternative.
Ethanol Pros
- Ethanol is a renewable energy source
- It can be produced wherever the feed stock can be grown
- Alcohol burns with less carcinogenic benzene and butadiene
- It's a hedge against imported oil and security concerns
- Ongoing research may improve ethanol production
Ethanol Cons
- Ethanol has about 1/3 less energy density than gasoline
- Not many cars and trucks are configured to burn ethanol
- Many vehicles made to burn E85 still get lower fuel economy
- Fuel economy is reduced considerably in other vehicles too
- More ethanol is required to go the same distance as gasoline
- Increased ethanol use in the US has doubled the price of corn
- Corn prices have risen in other countries as well
- Higher corn prices led to riots in Mexico
- There will likely never be enough ethanol produced to provide more than
about 12% of transport needs anyway
- Replacing just 5% of transport fuel with ethanol in the USA alone would
require 21% of crop land!
- If all of the vehicles in the USA were to be ethanol powered, it would take
97% of all the land in the country to produce the fuel!
- Ethanol increases ozone forming emissions on hot days by up to 70%
- Burning ethanol has been shown to double ozone-forming NOx emissions
- Ethanol increases two carcinogens - formaldehyde and acetaldehyde
- Ethanol plants themselves emit tons of air pollution
- Ethanol production strains water resources in places: It takes 3-6 gallons of water
to make just one gallon of ethanol
- Research shows that climate change is affecting corn crops more than
government mandates, oil prices or trade policies. Unless farmers start using
heat tolerant corn seed, they will need to move production to Canada.
- Ethanol production is big business and a big polluter in Muscatine, Iowa affecting
some 17,000 local residents. The Iowa State Attorney General and several
groups of individuals have prepared suits seeking improvements. Techincally, the
plant produces a raft of nasty airborne chemicals like acetaldehyde and sulfuric
acid.
